Baked Blueberry-Basil Donuts

Blueberry and basil. You might go either way on this… thinking it’s something you need to have in your kitchen right now, or something that sounds, well, interesting. But I can tell you that it’s every bit as delectable and interesting as it sounds, and if I had any more blueberries left on my bushes, I’d be making a second batch right now.

It all happened one day when I was walking around the garden, wondering what to make for breakfast. I had berries. I had basil. I looked at both and thought, Hmm, I wonder how these two would go together.

I’m a big fan of the fruit/herb combo (this grapefruit-rosemary bread is still one of my favorite recipes… so good that I even turned it into a jelly). When it comes to dreaming up new flavors, I’m guided by only one thing: my tastebuds. If my mouth starts to water at the slightest thought of two ingredients coming together in perfect culinary harmony, I know I’m on the right track. And that’s how these do-nots happened… as in, do not make these one morning, text your friends that you’ve just discovered a new donut flavor, and expect there to be any left that night.

These are the days when I think I need a second pan just to feed my friends, but for the rest of you, a 6-count donut pan will work out just fine!

Baked Blueberry-Basil Donuts

Makes 6 donuts

Ingredients

For the Batter
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup fresh blueberries

For the Glaze
1/8 cup water
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons minced fresh basil
Squeeze of lemon juice

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl (I use a 2-cup Pyrex bowl for easy measuring), whisk together the buttermilk, butter, vanilla extract, and egg.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

Gently fold in the blueberries.

Lightly oil your donut pan, then fill each mold halfway full with batter.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a donut comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool completely.

While you wait, make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together all the glaze ingredients until they form a smooth paste.

Fit a baking rack over a cookie sheet, then flip your donut pan over it to release the donuts.

One by one, dip each donut into the glaze. I like to double-dip mine, letting the glaze harden between dippings. (In fact, I had enough glaze left over to even triple-dip… why let good glaze go to waste? But if you think you’ll be a triple-dipper, you might want to go easy on the basil unless you like a strong basil flavor.)

I also like to stir up the glaze between each donut to make sure the basil stays evenly distributed.

Allow the glaze to harden, then share with four of your best friends! (Four, because you’ll definitely want two for yourself.)